Perhaps a Fun Thing to Do With Your Dog –
Teach It to Talk
1/14/23: If you have only 1 or 2 dogs, you might be interested in training it/them to “talk.” My friend Cathy, who has Mercy‘s brother, Charis (JJ litter), stumbled across the website, became intrigued and ordered the book, which was written by a speech therapist, Christina, who works with young, non-verbal children. When Christina got a puppy, she decided to try to teach it to talk like she does the kids. After reading the book twice, Cathy ordered the buttons onto which you record a word for an action (eat, walk, play, etc.) and began trying it with her two German Shepherds. (Ruger was an older GSD – not from me – and he died shortly after Christmas.)
Cathy was having so much fun, she wanted me to try the training and sent me the book for Christmas. I read it – it’s a compelling read in itself as she talks about how she helps the children – but won’t try it since I have 9 dogs and can’t face someone pushing buttons every few minutes. But if I had only dog, I’d do it in a flash.
A friend, who gave me a ride to the hospital for my Kyphoplasty, saw me with the book asked about it and was fascinated by the possibilities. After I finished it, I loaned it to her. She has Hopeful’s sister, Hilde (SS litter), and is going to train her.
If you decide to try it, let me know. Be sure to read the entire book before ordering anything as Christina learned as she went along and some of her later improvements will make the initial training easier for you.